The secret love life of Ben Roberts-Smith's nemesis Nick McKenzie - including a fling that had the industry talking... Plus, TikTok socialites' AVO war ends with a howler: THE GROUP CHAT

Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia's most trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip before it makes the news. 

A source of gossip

Backslaps all round for Nine's golden boy Nick McKenzie, whose years-long investigation into alleged war crimes by Ben Roberts-Smith culminated this week in charges being laid against Australia's most‑decorated soldier.

Roberts‑Smith has always maintained his innocence.

As regular readers of this column will know, the investigative reporter is famously guarded about his private life - and with good reason.

Despite his image as a serious, thinking man's journalist, it's not exactly a secret that McKenzie likes to let his hair down once a front-page splash is safely put to bed.

Whenever tabloid types gather over drinks to chew the fat on the day's stories, Nicky's reputation as a charmer is almost always part of the conversation.

Indeed, I couldn't help but notice that one of my old stories about McKenzie's 'secret girlfriend' had a spike in readership after BRS was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday - so what better time than now to revisit the ladies in his life?

Let's start with the fact the 20-time Walkley Award winner used to be a married man.

He was previously wed to Kylie Trounson, a Melbourne playwright, actor and lawyer with whom he shares two children.

That union sadly ended in recent years, after which, I am told, Nick had a fleeting relationship with a publicist that sparked some chatter in media circles.

Not that it takes much to do that these days.

And as I revealed in this column last September, the 46-year-old has been quietly dating retired AFLW player Elise O'Dea, 34, for about a year - quietly being the operative word.

Sources close to the couple said McKenzie was going to considerable lengths to keep the relationship 'discreet' - meaning no red carpets or pap-friendly public outings.

One former teammate of O'Dea's said at the time he simply wouldn't be seen publicly as part of a couple - a level of discretion driven by the realities of his investigative work and the potential risks that come with it.

Druggies at the servo

It was a call I wasn't expecting to receive over the long weekend, but I was certainly glad I picked up.

'I've just seen your mate Antony Catalano,' a Melbourne spy told me. (For the record, he isn't my mate.)

'Impossible,' I replied. 'He's in rehab.'

Which is true - but he wasn't exactly out of reach.

Just like Jesus emerged from his tomb on Easter Sunday eons ago, The Cat also made his own seasonal great escape - albeit one approved by his luxury clinic.

My source saw the ACM boss and owner of Byron Bay's Raes on Wategos in the flesh - not through the windows of his swanky rehab, but outside a suburban 7-Eleven.

He wasn't shuffling about on his own either. It looked more like a field excursion, alongside several other men and women also battling their demons.

'He was on an "outing" with his rehab crew,' said my source.

'There were about 25 people gathered outside. I thought the petrol station had run out of fuel. Then I looked closer and spotted The Cat.'

The father-of-nine - yes, nine - is about two weeks into an inpatient stint at The Delmont.

It's a high-end, tightly run, private facility tucked into Melbourne's well-heeled Glen Iris, known for its strict routines and no-nonsense approach to recovery.

It doesn't come cheap either, but I'm told it has a reputation for getting people to genuinely commit to sobriety.

Patients spend their days in structured, addiction-focused group sessions. It's intensive and insular, but, as it turns out, also includes occasional supervised outings.

Catalano, 59, checked himself in voluntarily, with an expected 28-day stay. Whether he'll see it through remains an open question.

Despite the controlled environment, there are small windows to the outside world. Phone access, for example, is reportedly capped at just five minutes a day - time that's said to be largely reserved for conversations with his legal team.

And it's that legal situation that continues to cast the longest shadow.

The co-owner of regional mastheads including The Canberra Times, Newcastle Herald and Illawarra Mercury is facing serious charges stemming from a brutal alleged assault at his luxury Melbourne apartment last month.

Authorities allege the confrontation escalated dramatically, with claims of assault, false imprisonment and a threat to kill.

Parts of the incident reportedly spilled into a common hallway and were captured on CCTV.

Nasty (alleged) stuff. But while he waits for his next day in court on May 11, he'll have plenty of time to work out his legal strategy while sucking Slurpees and eating overpriced Traveller pies.

Dismissed!

I don't know about you, but I sure miss the days when two socialites could hurl unforgivable insults at each other without getting lawyers involved.

Alas, 'tis 2026 and hurt feelings must be answered with restraining orders these days.

Of course, I am talking about TikTok pocket rocket Elle Salagaras and her former BFF Cindy Kilian.

Readers of this column will know Canadian-born drama queen Kilian was seeking a private AVO to protect herself from the fearsome Salagaras, who looks to be about 5'1" in heels.

There were several hearings for the matter in recent months that amounted to a hill of Totti's Roman beans.

It all ended with a whimper on Wednesday, just as I predicted it would, with Kilian withdrawing her application.

Case dismissed. 

Salagaras - formerly known by her online moniker @Elle_EasternSuburbsMum - is married to Lucas Salagaras, the managing director of private equity firm Point Capital, with whom she shares three children.

Last month, I revealed the former Cohen Handler buyers' agent and bottle girl had been treated by her husband to a new pair of tasteful breast implants.

It was a fairly innocuous item, so you can imagine my surprise when she took to social media to vent her anger about being photographed outside their eastern suburbs rental.

I'm told she'll be showcasing her new 'set' at Coachella this weekend. If you don't want to miss out, her new handle is @thats_so_elle.

Spice up your life

The most-talked-about cosmetician in the Wild West is back.

Clara Hurst's hard-launch back into Perth high society has arrived 18 months after the sudden death of her husband, disgraced dentist Dr David Hurst, whose body was found at Crown casino while his wife and children were in Bali.

It was a sad story - but for reasons that will become clear, Clara hasn't been afforded the same sympathy as most grieving widows.

Before ending his life in December 2024, Dr Hurst had siphoned $7.1million out of his practice, Perth Dental Rooms, with the full extent of his financial misdeeds not revealed until after his death.

David's theft from patients - including those who dipped into their superannuation at the dentist's request - left a trail of pain, devastation and empty wallets, as he used their money to bankroll a lavish lifestyle and a suspected gambling addiction that sank him into a financial black hole.

In the lead-up to his suicide, David and Clara Hurst splashed out on a $223,320 Porsche Cayenne, splurged $6.5million on their house, and spent more than $200,000 on international travel.

While Clara was not aware her husband was running his business while insolvent - nor do we suggest she had any knowledge of his misdeeds - she is still being pursued by patients her fraudster husband encouraged to pre-pay up to $2.36million for implants and expensive dental work that was botched, not completed or never even started.

It's no doubt a terrible burden for someone also dealing with grief and now raising two kids as a single mum.

But it's also not the sort of problem that will simply go away - especially with lawyers Slater and Gordon gathering evidence from affected patients and 'seeking accountability for the harm caused'.

Still, my Perth insiders say Clara is tentatively dipping her toes back into the social scene, recently attending a 40th birthday in Dalkeith and a 50th in Peppermint Grove in fancy dress.

'She also hosted a housewarming party at her home last month - the Claremont house she recently renovated,' a source told me.

'I don't have much goss from the party. Everyone seemed to just be sitting around drinking champagne and not talking about her late husband's former patients...'

Onwards and upwards, then?